Today, we celebrate the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which extends far beyond gains won for African Americans. It is in the spirit of Dr. King’s global witness that we raise our concerns about Darfur.

In his 1963 “Letter from A Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King outlined his rationale for civil disobedience: “…when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait.”

We agonize over the “degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness'” with regard to our brothers and sisters in Darfur. Because of the international community’s inaction, they now begin their fifth year of genocide. Like Dr. King, we are finding it difficult to wait.

Mr. President, we were encouraged by your initial interventions. More than two years ago when the death toll was reportedly 70,000, you boldly labeled Darfur a “genocide”. You generously funded humanitarian support. Today, however, the body count exceeds 400,000; 2.5 million are displaced. Unfortunately, most world leaders have confronted the madness of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, with pitiful hand-wringing and pathetic head-scratching. This is tantamount to complicity.

Mr. President, we request that you demonstrate authentic leadership. Among the strategies you should pursue are: 1) immediate deployment of a robust UN peacekeeping force; 2) a no-fly zone over Darfur; 3) freezing the assets of all Sudanese officials involved in the genocide; and 4) pressure on China, a major buyer of Sudan’s oil, to use its economic leverage to hold the Sudanese government accountable.

On this day, as we renew our commitment to Dr. King’s legacy, we declare that we can wait no longer. Darfur is descending deeper into despair. The bloodletting has spread to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. That is why we can’t wait. Increased assaults have rendered the refugee camps perilous. Rapes of women are escalating. Deteriorating security has forced humanitarian groups to evacuate. That is why we can’t wait.

Mr. President, we urge you to heed Dr. King’s admonition:

On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe? Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks the question, “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.

We pray, Mr. President, that you will honor Dr. King’s legacy by doing what is right for our brothers and sisters in Sudan and humanity. Too many have died to date. That is why you cannot, and we will not, wait any longer.